March 22, 2005
Fateful Quadrangle Cuba and Venezuela Face US and Colombia By JAMES
PETRAS
Cuba's living example of 45 years of successful resistance to US military
aggression and economic boycott is extremely damaging to Washington's goal of
world empire for several reasons. In the first place Cuba's success refutes the
notion put forth by the "center-left" that "small", "undeveloped" countries cannot
resist imperial powers, or sustain a revolution in the face of "globalization".
Secondly the survival of the Cuban revolution refutes the idea that Caribbean or
Latin American countries located proximate to the US must conform to the dictates
of Washington. Thirdly, Cuba demonstrates that the US empire is not invincible ­
Cuba has defeated almost all major aggressive military, political and diplomatic
attacks.
Diplomatically, Cuba is recognized by almost all countries in the world, and receives
the support of over 150 countries (versus 3 for the US) in opposition to the US
embargo in the United Nations. Economically, Cuba has trade and investment
relations with all major European, Asian, African, Latin American and North
American nations (except the US). Militarily, the Cuban armed forces and
intelligence agencies have defeated every US-sponsored terrorist attack on the
islands for the past half-century in addition to raising the political cost for any
potential invasion. In response to a half century of failures, the Bush Administration
has escalated its aggression: practically eliminating all US travel to Cuba, blocking
almost all family remittances, and tightening trade restrictions on food and
medicine. While these harsh measures have had some negative effects on Cuba,
they have also provoked opposition among some conservative sectors of the US
public. Many Cuban exiles who would normally support Bush have been
antagonized because they cannot provide economic assistance to aging family
members. Agricultural interests (from 38 states) which supported Bush are furious at
the new restriction on trade. Liberal and conservative enemies of the Cuban
revolution who hoped to subvert the revolution via cultural and ideological
penetration are upset by the travel and cultural restrictions.
In other words the harsher and more extreme the measures adopted by the Bush
Administration against Cuba the greater Washington's isolation. This is true
externally as well as internally. Let us examine several illustrations.
The US exploited the jailing of over 70 US paid propagandists, labeling them
"political dissidents", initially securing the support of the European Union. A year
later, the EU has broken with Washington and renewed and expanded its cultural
and economic ties with Cuba.
While the US tightens its trade embargo, Cuban trade and investment ties with
China and the rest of Asia, Venezuela and the rest of Latin America, Canada and
Europe have expanded and deepened. The US restrictions on family remittances
has been weakened by family members sending money via "third countries such as
Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic etc. Canadian, European, Latin American and
Asian visitors have topped 2 million annually and new influxes of investment have
made up for most of the shortfall from the restrictions on remittances.
Finally Washington's attempts to limit Cuba's access to energy sources after the fall
of the USSR have been defeated by the far-reaching trade and investment
agreements with the Venezuelan government of President Chavez. The Chavez
regime provides Cuba with petrol at subsidized prices in exchange for Cuba
providing a vast health and education program for the poor of Venezuela. The
Cuban-Venezuelan political and economic ties have undercut US efforts to force the
Caribbean and Latin American countries to break with Cuba. As a result of past and
present failed policies of directly attacking Cuba, the Bush administration has turned
toward destroying Cuba's strategic alliance with the Chavez regime.
Full: http://www.counterpunch.org/petras03222005.html